A suspected drunken driver has been charged with murder after he slammed his Porsche into a stranded motorist in an I-85 emergency lane in Gwinnett County, authorities said.
A trooper attempted to stop the gray Porsche Cayman shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday on I-85 North near Chamblee Tucker Road, the Georgia State Patrol said. But Victor Allen Smith, 55, of Smyrna, did not stop, according to investigators.
Hugo N. Martinez, 22, was unable to move out of the car’s path and was killed, the GSP said. He had been standing near his disabled vehicle with a wrecker operator, who jumped over a concrete barrier and was not injured, according to a news release.
Smith has been charged with a host of offenses, including felony murder, first-degree vehicular homicide and DUI. He was being held without bond late Tuesday at the Gwinnett jail, records show.
Before the crash, Smith was observed speeding and made an improper lane change, the GSP said. Channel 2 Action News, through an open records request, obtained Smith’s arrest warrant that said he was driving 120 mph at one point.
“The driver of the Porsche began making additional improper lane changes, driving recklessly, and accelerated to high speeds,” GSP Sgt. Michael Burns said in a statement.
Another quick lane change near Jimmy Carter Boulevard caused the fleeing vehicle to lose control, Burns said. It entered the emergency lane, where Martinez and the truck operator had just loaded Martinez’s vehicle onto a wrecker.
Smith was also charged with speeding, driving without a license, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving and improper lane change.
The incident remains under investigation.
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